Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-03-15
The Bill to Validate Land Titles in
Greer County is Discussed at
Length in the Senate.
The House Passes Bill Defining and
Prohibiting Blind Tigers-A
Substitute. Land Ball.
The Senate Committee Taking Testimony
In the Willis Case-High License
Bill Before Senate.
A SUB sTITUTE LAND BILL.

GUS printed Dill OF thirty sections, to pro-
vide for the sale Of all lands heretofore or
hereafter surveyed and set apart for the
/ benefit of the common school, the Uni
yersity and the several asylums, and the
lease of such lands aDd of the public lands
OF the state, and to prevent the free use,
occupancy, unlawful Enclosure or unlaW-
full appropriation of such lands and to
prescribe and provide deQuate penalties
therefor. was placed upon the desks Of
| the members Of the House this morning.
This bill is entitled the Senate substitute
bill and is intended to embrace all the
necessary legislation proposed this SEES
sion by both houses, and it is also under
| stood TO accord with the views of Cover
nor Ross on the land question.
"BLIND TIGERS"
bill has been introduced by Mr..
Prendergast o amend the Fenal Code so
as to prohibit the unlawful selling OF in
toXicating liquors and defining aid pro-
hibiting "blind tigers" snd providing
rules of evidence and penalties therefor.
The bill proposes to cure The defects in
the existing laws relative to the unlawful
sale of intoxicating liquors in local option
precincts, towns or cities. The bill pro-
Yides that in prosecutions for violation of
the prohibition or local option laws it will
only be necessary to produce on the trial
of Offenses committed, after this act
takes effect, the order of the Commission
er's court directing the election
to be held, the order declaring
the results Cor copies of the
ORDERS under the seal of the
clerk Of The county COurt, and to make
proof of the publication OF the latter
FOrder according to law, which may be
done by producing the minutes of the
commissioners court showing the entry
of the fact of publication by the county
Judge or copy of such entry, which
shall be deemed sufficient evidence and it
snail only be necessary to use the eX-
preston "intOXicatlng Liquors" in deS
CriptiOn of the stiMulant sold or pre-
scrlbed, which will be held to include ali
intoxicating liquors. The bill further
prescIibes that any person who shall
keep or run or be in any manner interested
in the running of "b!ind tiger" may be
punished by q fine in any sum
not less than one hundred nor
more than $500, and confinement in the
county jail not less than TWO months nor
more than one year. A "blind tiger" is
defined TO be any place where intOxicat-
ing liquors, medicated bitters or other
compounds producing intcXcation are
kept and sold by means of any device or
continuance whereby the vendor or party
delivering is concealed from the vendee
or person reCeIving,or where such liquors
are delivered by means of any device or
contrivance other than an open delivery.
and the persons buying and selling are in
F,I ,f no Tho VTDifaH
States internal revenue license posted up
at such place shall be prima fsCia evil
dence that the person is interested in
keeping or running such "blind tiger"
This bill passed the House.
TO VALIDATE LAND TITLES IN GREER
COUNTY.
A bill has been introduced in the SEN
ate and repoI ted favorably by the com
mittee on pubic lands, and read the first
time, to validate the titles to lands in
Greer county. This bill seeks to vail
date all locations and su veys heretofore |
made in the county of Greer by virtue of
veteran and Confederate lard certificates, !
provided that the field notes were ten |
dered 70 the Commissioner of the Gen |
eral Land Office within five Years from |
the date of the certificate. 1t also pro- |
vides that the owners of said certificates |
for which patents have not issued |
shall be entitled to the provisions of the
act only on condition that they |
shall survey an equal quantity |
for the public school fund |
and shall return the field notes TO both
surveys 10 the General Land Office within
eight months. This bill came up in the
Senate this morning on its second read
ing, and the question of adopting the
for the majority report WAS the
of debate over the merits of
the bill.
Senator Burgess, speaking against the
of the minority report, said that
the state owed the passage OF this bill in
business 20 the veterans of the Texas
+ evolution and the soldiers sent out by
Texas in the late civil war, to whom she |
had already issued the certificates in g
spirit Of gratitude.
Senator Mcdonald, advocating the
adoption Of the minority report, pro-
Ceeded to give history of the location of
these certificates in Greer county and the
suits sustained in behalf of the state in
the District court of Travis county To
cancel all the patents issued by the Gen
er8l Land Office to lands in Greer county I
by virtue OF these certificates, which suits
are now IN the Supreme court. He then
read an act that set aside all the unap-
lands in.Greer county to the
payment of the pub ic debt and for public
free schools OF the state. The |
veteran certificate act was subsequent
legislation and consequently could not
be valid when located upon lands already
set aside ~ the state for other purposes.
As the words used in tie veteran act re-
ferred to the public domain, and as there
Is no public domain in Greer county, the
location of any certificate issued either
to the veterans of the Texas revolution
or the Confederate soldier is not valid
nor cannot be validated by any suisse
queRt act passed for that purpose, be-
cause the act passed in 1879 appropriated
the lands In Greer county TO the payment
Of the public debt and free schools of the
state of Texas, and the act now before the
Senate II passed would be clearly uncon-